The Legend of the Koi Fish - the Dragon Fish
(Short version)
According to legend the lowly koi spends it's life trying to swim up the Yellow River. Near the source of the river is a great waterfall. If the koi successfully swims up that waterfall it is transformed into a dragon. The koi is a symbol of personal advancement, perseverance, determination and inner strength.
The following is my rendition of this story.
The upper symbol is my stylized interpretation of the Chinese calligraphy for "fish".
I've tried to incorporate all the elements into my version so that it actually looks like a fish.
The middle symbol is actually an old form of Chinese for the word "water". The modern day calligraphy for "water" is
The lower symbol is another stylized interpretation (mine) of the Chinese calligraphy for "dragon".
The calligraphy accompanying the symbols in my painting is my "story" of the Dragon Fish. Here is the English translation.
"If the Koi successfully travels"
"On the waterfall on the Yellow River"
"The koi was transformed into a dragon"
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The Legend of the Koi Fish - the Dragon Fish
(Long version, author unknown)
A long time ago, in the distant past, the water of the blue river that flowed from the sky, and the golden river that flowed from the land were separated by the legendary Dragon's Gate.
The golden river, so-called because of the golden colour of its water, was the last place where the inhabitants of the sea could swim freely, after the gods that walked on the earth had destroyed their massive home, believing themselves to be the owners of everything they laid their eyes on.
Amongst all the inhabitants of their water, the Koi family were the most beautiful of all, gleaming in the sunlight like brilliant stars. The black one was father Koi, the red one was mother Koi, and their little son was a remarkable deep blue colour.
What the little Koi fish wanted more than anything was to reach the waters of the blue river after hearing from his father how there was a time where there were no barriers between one place and the other. The bravest fish, the dragon fish, flew across the sky like pearls lighting up the darkness. The entrance was upstream, through the Dragon's Gate to the Great Waterfall of the blue river. Every fish that got that far sprouted golden wings and so became a dragon fish.
The young Koi, determined to find the Great Waterfall, began to swim upstream against the current. The other fish felt discouraged and thought it would be easier to swim with the current and didn't trouble themselves to find out what was beyond the waterfall because the gods set traps to trick them.
Although the current was very strong, the little Koi made a huge effort, flapping his fins as much as he possibly could. Gradually, he made progress and moved up the river. The loud splashing noise attracted the attention of the gods. Angry because a small fish dared disobey them, they gave orders to summon the river mouth monster, who swallowed whole everything that swam across its path. They didn't bargain on the fact that the Koi, being as small as he was, would easily swim through the monster's holey skin.
The Koi kept on swimming upstream until, suddenly, the water turned dark and dirty. He couldn't see anything and started to feel terrible. The gods were boasting they had been victorious against the efforts of the little fish when, suddenly, from the shore, the God of the Air appeared and, taking pity on the fish, gave orders for a whirlwind to take away all the dirt and to clear the way so the fish could continue.
The Koi kept going. He could feel in his fins he was getting closer. He carried on swimming. But then something odd happened: there was less water surrounding him. Suddenly he bumped into a stone wall that reached up almost as far as the sky. What was he to do now? The Dragon's Gate was on the other side of the wall. It occurred to him that his only chance was to jump as high as he could. So that's what he did, without giving up, even though all the time he could hear the gods laughing at him. Time and again he hurled his body into the air, only to fall back down into the water.
He was so tired that the wall appeared even higher. But not for a moment did he feel like giving up. Moved by his courage, the God of Water, who had been watching the little fish, wanted to give him a hand, since the gods had halted his progress and acted so disdainfully towards the river. When the Koi had summoned all his strength for one last jump, the God of the Waters called out to the waves and the fish's jump raised him up to the summit, allowing him to cross to the other side of the Great Waterfall of the blue river.
So it was that, because he never give up, the Koi was able to jump over to the other side of the Dragon's Gate where he disappeared into the fog and emerged as a beautiful dragon fish. At night, the little fish can be seen splashing happily in the waters of the great blue river.
Ever since that day, any fish that, like the little Koi, has the strength, courage and perseverance to go against the current and overcome difficulties, is rewarded by being transformed into a beautiful Dragon Fish.